1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a device for crushing or flattening compressible or malleable materials such as circular food and beverage cans. More particularly the invention relates to a can crushing apparatus for use in the home ergonomically designed to prevent injury to children and individuals in the household while effectively compressing cans commonly used in the food and beverage industry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The importance of recycling materials and environmental concerns has resulted in the introduction and utilization of a number of devices for compacting and crushing aluminum beverage cans. Some of these prior art devices are suitable for crushing aluminum and other soft metals but are not of sufficient power to crush and properly dispose of steel, food and beverage cans that have been utilized. These devices also have not been designed ergonomically to prevent injury to children and the user of the can crusher who may inadvertently or accidentally place his hand in the device to free a can that becomes lodged in the mechanism.
In addition to the devices available for recycling of cans in the prior art are waste disposal and litter compactors designed to crush, shred or compact cans to assist in their removal and waste disposal. In this regard several states have recently enacted antipolution laws requiring a deposit on all containers which would not otherwise be required thereby resulting in separate handling of food and beverage containers from trash and garbage in general. In such instances it is desirable to reduce the volume of food and beverage containers to ease the burden of handling of such empty containers.
The prior art includes a number of devices for compacting trash and for crushing cans. Some of the prior art compacting devices such as Talley U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,994 employs a compacting device that applies a force transverse to the axis of the can to essentially fold the can in half and then compress the can to a flat configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,994 is of further interest in providing a device to prevent accidental injury from cans becomming jammed in the can crushing device. Other representative prior art devices such as U.S. Pat. Nos. Malarsky 3,036,517 and Bailey 4,442,768 employ mechanical jaw-like members which may be manually or motor activated to crush cans. Other commonly employed compactors or can crushers are represented in prior art such as U.S. Pat. Nos. Skipworth 4,432,278 and Volemer 2,448,184 which employ a pair of angularly disposed conical discs that are rotated to define a wedge shaped opening of diminishing size for crushing cans.
U.S. Pat. Nos. Rosenow 3,827,351, Bruton 1,766,327 and Swendeman 4,432,279 employ the synchronization of rollers or cutters principly for flattening or shredding metal cans. The rollers in Rosenow's device have substantially square cross-sections with rounded edges. This provides a vise-like action at the flat surfaces of the rollers which flattens and crushes cans entrapped therein. Bruton's device provides a series of teeth in a cooperating relationship which impale and cut the metal cans. Swendeman's can flattener includes a single rotating drum cooperating with a series of roller assemblies mounted in an arc converging with the drum. Daily U.S. Pat. 4,369,699 discloses a can folding and flattening device including a rotating element which crushes the can against a fixed wall compression plate.
Still another variety of crushing device is disclosed in Kanna U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,645,199 Near 2,150,984 and Wagley 3,691,942. 3,645,199 and 2,150,984 provide a pair of opposing horizontal conveyors which converge toward their discharge end. A can or other metal article is placed between the conveyors whereby the article is crushed. Wagley provides a pair of vertically oriented conveyor belts which converge toward their lowermost end. The conveyor uses a single drive chain with a series of crusher plates attached thereto. An opening in the upper portion of the housing allows a can to be dropped between the converging conveyors where it is crushed and deposited into a receiving tray.
All of the above-noted devices are relatively complex. Those which require two synchronized rollers or belts are relatively elaborate and require the use of gearing to obtain the necessary synchronization. Many of the rollers are specially shaped which further tend to increase the manufacturing costs of the device.
The combination of a rotary cylinder and a fixed wall compression plate of the prior art frequently results in the material becoming jammed between the roller and plate. To avoid jamming, the compression plates are spring loaded so as to retract under high loads which would normally have resulted in jamming. This arrangement still did not completely correct the problem of jamming. Moreover, the additional moving parts were integrated into the device which resulted in a greater cost and greater potential for malfunction.
There is accordingly a need for a device capable of crushing or compressing malleable materials which is reliable, inexpensive to manufacture and safe and effective to operate. The operation of such devices pose several safety questions in operation around children and in becomming accidently jammed. This is particularly evident in the home where small children may come in contact and use the crushing device in an unsafe manner or through carelessness or lack of awareness of the risk of serious injury. It is therefore of significant importance that a compressor or crusher include safety features in order to avoid the risk of injury.
The present invention is directed to a compactor or crusher intended to be suitable for use in the home or workplace. The invention provides a relatively simple and inexpensive device for flattening or crushing malleable material and in particular empty circular food and beverage cans of aluminum or steel construction for subsequent disposal or recycling. The device is designed in such a manner as to significantly reduce the risk of injury to the user by employing a circular opening of a specific size in relation to a crushing mechanism distanced ergonomically from the circular opening. More specifically the safety features include an arrangement of components that prevents the user from inadvertantly placing their hands or fingers in danger of the moving parts. In addition, the device is provided with a safety switch to activate the moving crushing elements only when the can or article is placed in the device. Thus should one put their hand inadvertantly into the crusher, the likelihood of serious injury due to the moving parts is substantially eliminated.
The invention is also relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, install, operate and maintain. Compared to many of the previously known devices, the invention has relatively few moving parts thereby improving its reliability and efficiency.